


Rebels

by dragonwings948



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AKA Hopper is always watching, Dad Hopper, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Kissing, Light Angst, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03, Romance, Teen Romance, spoiler free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 08:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19849576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: The first time Mike comes over to the cabin, he and El have some things to discuss as Hopper is hovering, ever watchful. Will they follow his rules? Slightly. But mostly not.





	Rebels

**Author's Note:**

> I told you guys I'd be back with Stranger Things!!!
> 
> Season 3 killed me and this is only the first of many ST fics that I currently have lined up! Mileven has always been my fave, so get ready for lots of them.

A gaze like steel. Lips pressed into a thin line. Arms crossed over his chest. 

Hopper was stressed.  _ Really  _ stressed. 

“...what I’m saying is that, there’s just one rule, okay? Door stays open three inches. Always.” 

El tore herself away from the window to look Hopper in the eye. “Three inches,” she repeated. Her gaze wandered back out the window as he continued. 

“And if I see anything I don’t like, then I--”

“Mike!” El jumped up and started toward the door, forgetting Hopper’s existence altogether, when a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her short. A twinge of anxiety gathered in the pit of her stomach. 

El turned around, and Hopper squeezed her shoulder gently. His eyes were softer now, if only a little. “Three inches, El. I mean it.” 

“Okay.” She nodded, a little more at ease. “I promise.” 

Hopper heaved a sigh and released her. El smiled and opened the door just as Mike leaned his bike against the railing on the front porch. As soon as he met her eyes, she felt as if she could burst with happiness. She ran right into his arms and hugged him tightly. 

“Hey El,” he said softly in her ear. “It’s good to see you too.” 

The sight of his smile as he pulled away was enough to quell the uneasiness created by Hopper. No matter what they faced, Mike’s presence always made El feel safe. 

They walked back inside, hand in hand, to face Hopper. 

“Hey,” Mike said, without any real friendliness in his tone. He kept walking past Hopper, pulling El along with him. 

“Wait a minute, Mike.” 

Mike paused, but then hesitated, as if contemplating ignoring Hopper. El squeezed his hand. Mike rolled his eyes and turned. “Yeah?” 

Every trace of the stern but kind father was gone. Hopper was in full Police Chief-mode as he glared at Mike. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told El.” He nodded past Mike. “That door stays open three inches. You see that chair?” He indicated a recliner a few feet from El’s door. “I’ll be there the whole time. Do you understand me?” 

El could feel the tension between them as if it were a physical force. She pressed Mike’s hand again, silently urging him to say something. 

“Yes,” Mike mumbled eventually. He immediately turned around and led El into her room. El made sure to leave the door open a crack; she wasn’t sure how to measure three inches with her eyes, but she figured it was close enough. 

They sat on the edge of her bed, still holding hands. Mike stared down at the floor for a minute, his eyebrows drawn together. El knew he wanted to say something mean about Hopper, but that he was all too aware that he was most likely listening just outside. 

“How is everyone?” El asked to get his mind off of it. She was sincerely curious, too; it had been a week or so since she had seen her friends. 

“Fine,” Mike sighed. “I wish you could hang out with us. It’s weird with Lucas and Max, and--” He stopped short, then stuttered, meeting her eyes briefly. “--and I miss you.” 

El caught on to his hesitation. “Did something happen?” 

Mike frowned, focusing on the floor again. “No, it’s just…” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Sometimes they act stupid. About you.” 

“Me?” 

“Us,” Mike corrected. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, they’re just jealous.” 

“Jealous?” Eleven tried to fit the meaning she knew into this context. 

“Yeah, you know, like they wish they could be like us. Because we have each other. Well, Lucas has Max now, but…it’s not the same.” 

“Oh.” It really was confusing how words had to have more than one meaning. “What do you mean, ‘Lucas has Max?’” 

“They’re together. They’ve been trying to hide it, but I can tell.” 

El still couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. “Together?” 

“Yeah. It’s sort of like…” His eyes rolled upwards as he thought. He freed his hand from hers and used it to add to his explanation. “When a guy and a girl like each other, they’re together.” 

El took a moment to process his words. “Like us?” 

“Yeah.” 

“We’re…together?” 

He nodded. 

El remembered something Nancy had said when she had last seen her. “So I’m your girlfriend?” 

Mike’s mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wider. A tinge of red dusted his cheeks. “W-Where did you hear that?” 

“Nancy asked me if I was. She said it was different than just being a girl and your friend.” 

“Uh…it is, sort of.” He started rubbing his hands together. “It’s like, when you go to the Snow Ball with someone, you go when you’re together. With your girlfriend or boyfriend.” 

“So I  _ am _ your girlfriend?” 

He finally looked up at her, something so innocent in his fearful eyes that El couldn’t quite place. “Do you want to be?” 

It seemed like such a silly question. They had already gone to the Snow Ball together. “Yes.” 

Mike smiled and seemed to relax, grasping her hand once more. “Cool.” 

“So is Max Lucas’ girlfriend?” she asked, still trying to get clarification. 

“Yeah I guess, sort of. I haven’t really talked to Lucas about it.” 

Eleven thought back to how Lucas and Max had acted together for the past month. So far, she couldn’t remember seeing any evidence that they were ‘together,’ if that was what her and Mike were. 

“They don’t act the same way we do.” 

Mike shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“Why?” 

“Well, having a girlfriend…it’s cool, but at the same time it’s not. It gives everyone else in the party the right to make fun of you.” His face fell as he said it, and El realised that she had just gotten to the root of the issue. 

“They make fun of you because of me?” She didn’t understand how friends could make each other feel like this. 

“They’re just being stupid,” he reiterated. Then he smiled at her, his eyes brightening as he met her gaze. “I’m glad that you’re my girlfriend.” 

Before El could talk about it any further, Mike leaned over and kissed her, bringing to mind the Snow Ball. But just as he pulled away he kissed her again, squeezing her hand as the touches of his lips became more frequent. 

For a moment, El was slightly caught off guard by this new way of kissing, but ready enough to follow Mike’s lead. She found herself drawing closer to him, and, almost without thinking, placed her free hand on his cheek. 

“Hey!” 

Hopper’s yell was like an electric shock, instantly breaking them apart. El stared at Mike in panic, her heart still pounding hyperactively in her chest. 

“I better hear more talking in there!” 

For a moment, it was like time was frozen. Suddenly a grin broke out on Mike’s face, and El smiled too. They both laughed, and Mike captured her other hand in his. He gently swung their hands back and forth. 

“So was that, uh...was that okay?” 

El felt her grin spread impossibly wider. “Yes.” Ignoring Hopper completely, she kissed Mike again. 

**Author's Note:**

> No disrespect to the Party or Lumax; love them all, but Mike needed to get some feelings out!


End file.
